Entertainment | Music
Shaking up the rock scene
Bahraini royal Shaikh Hassan Bin Rashid Al Khalifa is a rock 'n roller who has just released his latest album In the Desert with his indie-rock band Manakin.
- By Amelia Naidoo, Notes Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:27 November 22, 2008
- Shaikh Hassan Bin Rashid Al Khalifa, or "Shake", is the lead singer of UK-based indie-rock band Manakin.
- Image Credit: Supplied photo
It took a couple of minutes longer to locate Shaikh Hassan Bin Rashid Al Khalifa, or "Shake", as I was looking for his trademark mop of wild curly hair. It was in the corner of a hotel restaurant in an understated white shirt, jacket and jeans that I found him trying to get in a few forkfuls of spaghetti bolognaise in between media interviews. The rocker hair had been replaced with a tamer ponytail.
Any confusion about how he should be addressed was immediately cleared up by a casual "Hi I'm Hassan". He added that his friends call him "Shake".
He went on to explain his Dubai visit, saying, "When I'm not rockin' and rollin', writing music or performing, I take care of my family's 35-year-old retail business and the head office is over here."
Shake and his UK-based band Manakin, formerly known as Brothermandude, have been writing and composing songs in Spain. The four-piece band is headed by Shake and joined by ex-Neneh Cherry band guitarist Charlie Casey, bassist Russell Milton and drummer Ian Markin. "Once a month for about a week, we go to our manager's house in Spain – he has a studio in the basement – and all of us record music, skits and fun things," Shake said.
Favourable reviews
Shake said In the Desert has already got good reviews and download numbers. It is set to be released in the Middle East in early January. The music video for the track Gun was recently shot in Vancouver, Canada. "I'm not the biggest fan of the video but it was a great experience working with the director. Hopefully it'll be up on MTV soon. Everybody who sees it loves it, I'm just my biggest critic," he said.
Shake said an Arab flavour had been added to the album in the last track The Day but it was unintentional. "It was the first time I wrote in Arabic and I would never have done it but I was three hours late to practice and I walked in and my drummer gave me this angry look and asked 'can you sing in Arabic?'" After being bullied into singing in Arabic, the group found that the end result was amazing.
"If I was there on time I wouldn't have done it but I was three hours late so I tried it. I didn't know we were recording and afterward we said 'wow'," said Shake.
He said his fan base in his home country is huge with the band's first show being packed to capacity. Although the band has a loyal following in the UK, Florida, California and Virginia he said they were trying to get their music out of Europe more. "We've got fans all over and now we are focusing on doing the live scene again in 2009."
Shake is easily recognised in the Arab world whether he is in a club in Bahrain or at a music festival. He said his funniest story was when a Brazilian fan approached him after a Robert Plank concert in Wembley Arena that held about 30,000 people.
"This guy approaches me and says 'hey, hey, I recognise you. You're with Manakin!' I asked him where he was from and he said he was from Brazil and started singing one of our songs. As I walked away my friends said 'dude, you've made it'."
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